6 hours later . . .

Whew, the show is up and it only took us 6 hours. Hope to see everyone on Sunday, May 4, 2008 from 2-4 pm at the Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing in Dartmouth.

 

Its a Date

Opening Reception: Sunday, May 4, 2008, 2–4 pm
Exhibition: April 29 - May 25, 2008

Craig Gallery at Alderney Landing
2 Ochterloney Street, Dartmouth, NS
(next to the Dartmouth Ferry Terminal Building)
902-461-4698
www.alderneylanding.com

Gallery Hours:
Monday: closed
Tuesday-Friday: 12 noon - 5:30 pm
Saturday: 9 am-5 pm
Sunday: 11 am-4 pm

Shannon … on my ipod

This is the music that I've listened to consistently while painting this series:

Live at the Fillmore, Lucinda Williams
Essence, Lucinda Williams
The Sky Observer’s Guide, Amy Cook
The Last Waltz, The Band
Will the Circle be Unbroken Vol. I, II & III, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Lonelyland, Bob Schneider
My Baby Just Cares for Me, Nina Simone
Black Doves, Amelia White
Stop Making Sense, Talking Heads
Dusty in Memphis, Dusty Springfield
Awake is the New Sleep, Ben Lee
Kind of Blue, Miles Davis
Portrait in Jazz, Bill Evans
Ravi Shankar, Chants of India
Greatest Hits, Muddy Waters
J.S. Bach: Suites for Cello, Pablo Casals

Diane … on my CD player

These are the ones I listen to over and over and over while painting:

Joel Plaskett Emergency: "Ash Tray Rock", "Truthfully, Truthfully"; "Down at the Khyber"
Joel Plaskett: "LaDeDa"
Amelia Curren: "War Brides"
Ruth Minikin: " Folk Art"
Ron Hynes: "Ron Hynes"

Plus:
Leonard Cohen: "I'm Your Man"; " Tower of Song"
Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova "Once"
Damien Rice: 'O'
Natalie Merchant: "Ophelia"
James Blunt: 'Back to Bedlam"
Santana: "Supernatural"
Eros Ramazzotti: 'Calma Apparente"
Aerosmith: 'Greatest Hits"

Norene … listening to Serena

Detail from Dreaming a Piece of Land, Ardoise, Nova Scotia

Shannon and I were talking about the music we listen to when we paint. We thought we should make a list, a recommendation for those who are wildly creating, tucked away in their home studios. So, here goes:

Norene’s latest favourites:

If Your Memory Served You Right, Serena Ryder
Car Wheels On a Gravel Road, Lucinda Williams
West, Lucinda Williams
Love and Negotiation, Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Fallen, Evanescence
Get Back Change, Ron Hynes
Hymns of the 49th Parallel, KD Lang
Stand Still-Look Pretty, The Wreckers
Famous Last Words, Hedley
Daughtry
Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
Pink

Now I think D and S should add to this list.

Diane . . .

"We went back home … for flowers. Stayed for dinner and had a glorious afternoon."
Beatrice July 25, 1926

Norene . . . ‘Here she lies where god has flung her.’

Detail from Chemainus, British Columbia


When I asked the subjects of my paintings for their thoughts on their chosen landscapes, I was grateful for their willingness to open up and share private feelings. I was moved by the rush of emotion that poured out.

Okay, some responses were what I expected – how luck and timing resulted in discovering the perfect home, how a desire for change meant a new point of view, how their environment nourishes and inspires.

What I didn’t expect was being thanked repeatedly for asking the question. Let’s face it. We’re all too busy. Running behind ourselves. We don’t often take the time to reflect on how we got here. Most were glad to try to frame their thoughts, maybe even surprising themselves with how they felt.

Some were haunted with dreams of a childhood topography that was so elemental, they searched their whole lives trying to find it again. One preferred the excitement of exploring an internal landscape. One was so overpowered by the purity and lightness of the air, the transcendent quality of the terrain, that his heart was pierced and nothing was ever the same again. One has looked at the sky and seen the face of god.

In the end, this exercise has made me realize that wondering about people and the places they live has been a fascination of mine since I was young and living the transient life of an army brat. It flows under the surface of everything that I do.